Torchwood Doctor Who Crossover
by RoughDraftWho
Summary: It's a normal day at his desk for Jack, until he is greeted with a startling, scary surprise. Great. Another thing to add to his list of problems. But this isn't just a problem. It's... well, you'll find out. Jack is given a tidbit of insight into something he doesn't understand much about. It doesn't please him. In fact, it worries him more than he's ever been worried before.


Jack sat down at his cluttered desk, and started flipping through papers, most of them

charts on rift activity. The coffee mug in the corner of the desk spilled, all over the papers he was trying to file. Jack didn't care. He was having what he called 'Ianto trouble' again. Ianto was jealous of Gwen even though Jack had told him, on many occasions, that there was nothing going on between them. She was married, after all. But no matter how many times Jack said that, no matter how persistent he was, Ianto refused to believe him.

Just then, he was jolted out of his unpleasant thoughts by a faint **whoosh, whoosh **sound,

getting louder by the second. _Could it be? _Jack thought.

As if to prove Jack's guess, a blue police box slowly materialized in front of him. He,

however, knew the real story of this box.

He walked toward the box, and stood there.

He was starting to worry. Normally, when the TARDIS landed, the Doctor came striding

out to greet whoever was outside.

Now, however, no sound could be heard but the machine's faint hum. He fumbled around in his pocket for the key that the Doctor had given him sometime earlier. He found it, took it out and unlocked the door.

He pushed it open, and was greeted by a frightening surprise. The Doctor, normally

having a fun twinkle in his eye, was laying unconscious on the TARDIS's grated floor.

He walked closer, and saw that an aspirin bottle was laying open on the floor, one of the

obvious culprits. Why would the Doctor have this anywhere? Maybe for his companions?

Aspirin was poisonous to a Time Lord. The Doctor himself had told Jack that.

Jack picked up the Doctor and carried him with both arms, it being easy since, though shorter, Jack was the larger man of the two.

When he got to the outer wall of the TARDIS, he shifted the Doctor's weight onto his

shoulder.

He then stroked the TARDIS, as he had seen the Doctor do many times before.

The TARDIS was living, so it could hear him and communicate.

''Why'd you bring him here, old girl?'' he asked, still stroking the exterior wall.

As if on cue, Gwen came into the room. Seeing her there, Jack said to him, ''Gwen! Get

out of the way! I need to get him to the medical bay!''

Gwen moved out of the doorway and asked, ''Yes, Jack! But who is this man?''

''Just an old friend,'' said Jack, opening the door to the sick bay. ''A very old friend,'' said

Jack, and laughed at his own joke.

None of the beds had been used in a long time, so they were all clean and ready to be

used. That, at least, was something that Jack was thankful for. He laid the Doctor down on the bed, and pulled over a chair from the table in the corner of the room.

He then looked at his friend, questioningly, wondering what had happened. He saw beads

of sweat forming on the Doctor's forehead, so Jack took off the Doctor's brown, pinstriped coat, and laid it over the back of the chair that he had dragged over.

When he did, he saw that the Doctor's shirt was heavily stained with blood. Removing the

jacket didn't seem to help any with his temperature, so he unbuttoned the Doctor's blue shirt.

What he saw surprised him.

There were three large gashes, spanning the whole width of the Doctor's chest.

Jack wondered aloud, ''How could this have happened to him? Who could have done this?'' Jack had no idea about what had happened to the man before him.

His friend, normally looking so happy and full of life, was now lifeless and frail. Jack had

never seen him like this before. The Doctor was a hard person to get to know, you never knew how he was really feeling. He was always so... cryptic.

Jack sat down in the chair, for the first time since he had dragged it over. He thought of

all the adventures he and the Doctor had had together; the Battle of Canary Wharf, meeting the Master... And that was only just a sampling of their times together! He was so engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't even notice how long it had been, or Gwen's presence into the room.

He finally noticed that he and the Doctor weren't alone when Gwen said, ''Jack, you've

been in here for hours! Who is he, and why is he this important to you?'' She came and sat down on the bed beside the Doctor's.

''Like I said,'' responded Jack, ''he's an old friend.'' Jack shifted in his seat to face Gwen,

every so often stealing glances at the Doctor.

''Jack, you're not telling me who he is, at least not really. I know there's something more

to this. Who is he, Jack?''

''Why not just have a listen with that stethoscope thing up there,'' said Jack, turning

around again to face his friend. "You'll find out soon enough."

Gwen walked around to the other side of the bed, across from Jack, with the Doctor

between them, and took the stethoscope down from the shelf.

''Be prepared for a surprise,'' said Jack, though for what, Gwen wasn't sure yet.

She put the two buds of the stethoscope into her ears, and listened to the man's heartbeat.

After a few passes of the instrument over the nearly motionless chest, she was sure of an

irregularity. As the truth of what she was hearing sank in, a look of shock appeared on her face..

''He has two hearts! Two heartbeats!'' Gwen said, in shock. ''Weak, but it's clear that there

are two! How can that be? Jack?''

Jack turned to face Gwen, and said, ''It's hard to explain. This man, the Doctor, is his

name, he isn't quite... human.''

''What do you mean, not human? Excepting the dual heartbeat, he is, essentially, human!

And the double heartbeat, while it seemed true, may have even been a phantom, or a malfunction in the stethoscope!'' said Gwen, settling down on the bed again.

''No. It's no mistake. Listen, Gwen, the Doctor, he... well... he sort of travels in time and

space, saving our world and many others from alien destruction.'' No need to tell her how old he is, thought Jack. Gwen's paradigm was already shifting too rapidly for comfort.

For a while, no one spoke.

''Okay. So if I do believe you, which I do, then how do you think he declined to this condition? What happened?''

''I saw a bottle of aspirin next to him when I found him like this.''

''And...?'' asked Gwen. ''How is that even relevant?''

''Okay, a little background here. The Doctor is a Time Lord. Actually, he's the last

surviving Time Lord. Aspirin is poisonous to them. Yeah, the last SURVIVING. For now. Let's hope it stays that way." Jack paused, to get himself back on track. "Yeah. Anyway. Thankfully, he only took one. One could be detrimental to his health, but two... two could be deadly. Really fatal. He would be dead like that,'' said Jack, as he snapped his fingers. _Unable to regenerate, _Jack thought, but he kept quiet.

There was a long pause.

''Wow. Jack, I really appreciate your devotion to your friend, but you've been in here for hours! Let me watch him for a while. You need a break. You have my word I will alert you if anything happens.''

After a few minutes of thinking, Jack answered, ''Okay, Gwen. Just don't let him

anywhere near the aspirin. Promise me that.''

''I promise,'' Gwen said, and, satisfied, Jack left the room.

Jack noticed that he had been so busy, and now, worried, that he hadn't eaten anything

today. He went into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich. As if by fate, Ianto was in there as well, leaning against the counter. Ianto was about to start to flirt with Jack, but when he saw his face, he decided against it. Just from Jack's expression, he could tell now was not the time.

When Jack walked in, he said, ''Hi, Jack. I walked past the infirmary, which I had suspected to be empty, but saw you in there with an unconscious stranger. Who is he? Why is he here?''

As Jack was getting down the bread from the shelf, he answered, ''He's... well... that's...it's

complicated.

''I have enough time,'' said Ianto. ''And I can understand it, even if it is complicated. Jack,

tell me who he is.''

Jack got the roast beef out of the refrigerator. ''Well... he's an old friend.''

Ianto sat down at the table with a cup of coffee. ''What kind of old friend? Why is he so

important to you? Why is he more important to you than Gwen or me?''

''Well... this man, the Doctor, he travels... in space and time... and he saves our world, and

many others from intergalactic destruction." He paused, waiting for Ianto to take this in, Then he continued.

"Remember Christmas, three years ago? Giant spaceship over London? He was there! Two years? Hospital got transported to the moon? He was also there! This planet would not be as good as it is if not for him.''

There was a long pause, during which Jack assembled his roast beef sandwich and sat down at the table across from Ianto. He guessed Ianto was trying to understand it all. It had taken him a while, too, when he was still a con man. Boy, was that a long time ago!

:So he's sort of an intergalactic superhero?" said Ianto with a laugh.

"I guess you could say that," said Jack, without returning a shred of humour.

There was a momentary silence, as if the two men were deep in thought.

''Wow,'' said Ianto. ''So, this man, the Doctor, he's a really, really good friend, huh?''

''Oh, no, Ianto. Not like that. He's not that kind of a man.'' _Despite the countless number of times I've tried, _Jack added silently.

''Oh.''

After another long pause, Ianto was the one who spoke again. ''So... what do you think

happened to him? I mean... why is he like this?''

''I saw a bottle of aspirin next to him when I found him unconscious. That might have

something to do with it.

''Aspirin?''

He explained again about the Doctor's condition, as well as his origins. He left out certain details, so as not to make Ianto question him more than necessary. He, as well, was already starting to get too suspicious for Jack's liking.

''Oh,'' said Ianto again. ''Might you want to go check on him? If he's in that bad a

condition, why did you even consider coming down here?''

''Gwen's watching him.'' said Jack, getting up out of his chair. ''But I probably should get

back to the sick bay to check how they're doing. She needs a break.'' _Staying with an unconscious alien, that's a lot to do, especially if you don't know the person._

''Okay,'' said Ianto. ''Update me on his condition. Okay, Jack?''

''Okay,'' said Jack, walking out of the room. ''I will.''

As Jack walked down the stairs and through the halls to the infirmary, he thought to

himself, ''Why is he like this now? I've never seen him like this, for all the years that I've known him. Why is now any different? What could have happened recently that sent him into this horrible condition?''

''Is he remembering Rose?'' he questioned. ''No. In all this time, he's never been driven to

this over her. So what could it have been? Even the whole ordeal with the Master hadn't reduced him to this condition.''

He reached the sick bay, and as he walked in, Gwen looked up from the Doctor.

''Hi, Jack. I'm sorry, he hasn't woken up, he hasn't even moved. He is still breathing, though, and his hearts are still beating. Faintly, but still, they're working.''

''Thank you, Gwen. I think I'll stay with him for a while. You can leave. Thanks for your

help.''

''You sure, Jack? You look pretty worn out.''

''Yes, Gwen, thank you. I'd like to be alone with him for a while.''

''Okay, Jack. If you say so,'' said Gwen, and left the room.

It was dark by now, and the Doctor had arrived in the early afternoon.

Jack ran his fingers over the bandages that Gwen had placed over the Doctor's wounds. He saw that the Doctor had bled through the bandages.

He had medical training, albeit minimal, when he had started the new regime of Torchwood. He knew that, for a human, when either a day had gone by, or they had bled through the bandages, you needed to change the dressing. Time Lords, with two hearts, had more blood circulating than humans, so it was logical that they would need any wounds tended to twice as often.

He took the bandages off the Doctor's chest, and saw that the cuts, while they had not

gotten worse, had not healed either.

Time Lords were supposed to heal much faster than humans.

Again, Jack wondered what was troubling his old friend. What could have happened?

Jack replaced the bandages and then sat down in the chair next to the bed.

He was trying to come up with reasons why the Doctor could be like this, but none worked, or even made sense, according to what Jack knew about his friend.

He then remembered something he had heard somewhere: Even when you're unconscious,

you can sometimes still feel a hug. Was that true? Whether it was or not, Jack needed it, even if the Doctor didn't.

He went over to the Doctor's bed, and sat down beside him. Jack pulled him up into as

much of a sitting position as he could, and, tears rolling down Jack's face, hugged him. Even

Time Lords need hugs sometimes.

Whether it benefited the Doctor or not, Jack did not know, but it benefited Jack.

But Jack felt the Doctor's hand again, and it was shockingly cold. Not just as cold as his

skin was normally, but ice cold. Was that to be expected with an unconscious Time Lord?

He didn't know, he had never seen anything like this.

He walked over to the medical supplies cabinet, and got out a hot water bottle. He filled

the bottle with hot water from the tap and walked back over to his friend, all the while hoping it would warm him up some.

He put the bottle under the Doctor's hand, as that was what was cold, and got a blanket from the cabinet on the opposite side of the room.

He walked back over to the bed and spread it over his friend. He sat back down in the

chair, and thought about all the other adventures they had together, but he just couldn't

concentrate, he was worried so much.

He kept looking at the Doctor, checking his pulse to see that his hearts were still beating.

He did this every few minutes, and each time, thankfully, he both heard and felt the faint,

**bumbum-bumbum **that told Jack that ever so faintly, the Doctor's hearts, both of them, were still beating.

While the Doctor was not aware of the real world, he was dreaming of another. One he

destroyed years ago. His own home planet of Gallifrey.

He was dreaming of a time before he ever knew he was to become who he was now,

before he ever knew what destruction he was going to cause.

_''Hi, Theta!'' he heard a voice say behind him._

_He swung around quickly, to find that his old friend Koshei was running towards him. _

_This was centuries before the events that led him to be known as 'The Master'. _

_Theta and Koshei were friends when Gallifrey still existed__,__ when its magnificent Citadel of the Time Lords still stood. _

_Koshei came running to him, and ran past him, stealing Theta's hat as he went. They were only seven years old now, young, even by human standards._

_Theta ran after Koshei, and before long, the two were involved in a rigorous game of_

_tag._

_Theta's mother came out to check on him, but when she saw what was happening, she_

_went back inside, not wanting to distract her son from the fun he was having._

_The two boys ran over the colorful hills and the red grass, trying to catch up to one_

_another._

_Theta was normally the faster runner, but his uncomfortable shoes disadvantaged him_

_and he could not catch up to Koshei._

_It was amazing, how much energy these two boys had. It seemed they could never tire._

_But, of course, they did. _

_They sat down on a bench beside the colorful, rolling hills, where they could get a fascinating view of the two suns as they shone over the brilliant planet._

_''Isn't this amazing?'' asked Theta._

_He had always been interested in the sciences of space, so this kind of a question was not_

_unusual for him to be asking. Koshei had gotten used to it, although it could get annoying_

_sometimes._

_''I mean, all the heat those two stars must give off to make this planet perfect for Time_

_Lord life! Isn't it just fascinating? Not too hot, not too cold, just the right temperature, with the atmosphere shielding us, for us to live on this planet! And all the other planets too! Perfect for the lifeforms that live on each one! Don't you think that's amazing, Koshei?''_

_''Yeah, fascinating. Hey, Theta, do you think when you grow up you might study space_

_and try and find new planets and stars? Since you're so interested in it.''_

_''I don't know. I might. How should I know? We're only seven years old! We have_

_hundreds of years ahead of us! Why should I have to choose now? What about you, if you're trying to get me to choose. What do you want to do when you get to be older?''_

_''I see why you can't answer. It's a pretty hard question. But to try to answer it, I'm as_

_interested in the natural sciences, chemistry and biology, as you are interested in the science of the universe.''_

_''Oh. Okay.''_

_Just then, Theta's mother came out of the house, and said, ''Theta! I need you home!''_

_''Okay, mother,'' he said.. ''Bye, Koshei,'' he said, and the two went running opposite_

_ways to their homes._

The Doctor's mind then flashed back to an incident, centuries later, when the two boys

were not as friendly towards each other as they had used to be.

The Master, his old friend Koshei, was dying in his arms, refusing to regenerate and

therefore be imprisoned with the Doctor for the rest of his life.

_The Doctor was just about to take responsibility for this man that had, oh so long ago, been his friend. Maybe he hoped that could happen again, that they could be partners, equals, in exploring the universe. He knew the chances of this were slim, but, being who he was, he refused to give up hope._

_The Master, wondering what would happen to him, and admittedly, a little scared of the results, asked again, "You still haven't answered the question. What happens to me?"_

_He knew what he had to do. "You're my responsibility from now on. The only Time Lord left in existence," he said, in a moment he would remember until the end of his lives. _

_He knew it might have been foolish, taking in the Master, but he could only think of what would happen if he didn't. These people, filled with rage at this man who, in their eyes, seemed evil and insane, through and through, would kill him for all he had done. _

_The Doctor, however, could see through the facade of insanity and evil, to see an old man, like himself, who had turned insane as a child because of his elders. The Master was only evil because he was filled with anger towards those who had forced him to see something so horrible, he naturally went mad. _

_His insanity, brought on by the same people his true anger was directed towards, only added to that evil. But the Doctor had known the Master long before these people, these humans, ever had, long before his fury came on, long before he was forced to look into the whole of time itself. Before that, the boys had been friends. Before, Koshei had been remotely normal, for a Time Lord, at least. Sure, he had been a little crazy, but in a good way, not nearly like he was now._

_These memories had convinced the Doctor to try to protect the man, this friend turned insane and evil, he had once known, and now knew again. _

_He was brought out of his memories by Jack, his voice doubtful and unsure, but in no way trying to stop him. "Yeah, but you can't trust him." _

_The Doctor knew that. He knew that if he took in the Master, he would need to keep his eyes on him at all times, like a small child, who doesn't know what would hurt himself or others. He knew how manipulative the Master could be. He still didn't care. He just wanted to protect his old friend. He knew what he had to do, what he had to say._

"_No. The only safe place for him is the TARDIS." _

_The Master's voice immediately came to his ears, full of anger, but also just a little bit of curiosity. "You mean you're just gonna…keep me?"_

_The way the Master said it made him sound like the Doctor's pet. But the things the Doctor had to keep him from doing were much worse than chewing up the furniture, or his shoes, like a dog would do. It was more like universal destruction and domination. _

_He'd been wandering aimlessly for longer than he could remember. Maybe now was the time to stop._

"_Hmm." he said as he gathered his thoughts, then looked into the Master's eyes. "If that's what I have to do."_

_He turned to look at Jack, his funny and slightly off-color friend. "It's time to change. Maybe I've been wandering for too long. Now I'll have someone to care for." _

_Out of nowhere, a gunshot rang out, and the Master staggered backwards. It was obvious what had happened. The gun, dropped by Francine, was available to be used by Lucy, to shoot her husband. _

_Jack ran over to Lucy, and took the gun out of her shaking hands, while the Doctor ran over to his friend. _

_Lucy's hand was still on the gun, as Jack took it away. "Put it down." Jack's voice was soft, yet still full of anger._

_The Doctor barely noticed. _

_He was on the floor, with his friend in his arms, shaken from what had just happened. _

_Though he was dying, the Master didn't seem angry or vengeful. Rather, he seemed, not quite glad, but happy nonetheless. The Doctor had no idea why._

"_Always the women," said the Master, in a soft voice, though he didn't sound at all bitter._

"_I didn't see her."_

_It was the truth; he was too focused in his own memories, his own thoughts, to see what was coming._

"_Dying in your arms. Happy now?"_

_No. Not at all, he wanted to say. He wasn't at all happy. He had seen too many deaths over the courses of his lives. He didn't want another, didn't need another implanted, embedded, in his memory. He already had enough. _

_Then he started to wonder why the Master didn't just regenerate. The Master seemed angry about coming with him, yes, but wasn't that better than dying?_

_He tried to keep the tears already in his eyes from spilling. "You're not dying, don't be stupid. It's only a bullet. Just regenerate__.__"_

_With true indignance, the Master's voice came to his ears. "I guess you don't know me so well. I refuse." He heard, along with the words, the Master struggling to breathe. _

_The tears in his eyes threatened to come cascading down his face, but he tried to keep them at bay. _

_He didn't need another death to look back on years from now. He'd already had that happen countless times. Thinking of this just brought more tears to his eyes, and made him feel guiltier, so he just stared at the man in his arms, indignant even at his time of death._

_The tears that had been welling in his eyes finally started to fall, and with them came all the guilt he had been trying to hide for so long, and his pure despair at his friend dying in his arms. He begged for what he knew would be refused, but even so, he tried._

"_Regenerate. Just regenerate. Please! Please! Just regenerate!" _

_He started yelling in desperation. "Come on!"_

_He knew the refusal would come, again, the same lividity in the voice as before._

"_And spend the rest of my life imprisoned with you?"_

_That's better than dying, he thought to say, but he knew this would only be revoked._

_The memories he had been working so hard at trying to avoid came bursting through with extreme clarity. He relayed them to the dying man, still sad, though remembering good times. _

"_You've got to. Come on. It can't end like this. You and me, all the things we've done. Axons? Remember the Axons? And the Daleks?" _

_In a moment of sheer and utter despair, he pleaded with his dying friend. "We're the only two left, there's no one else. Regenerate!" _

_Thinking about the world he'd lost, the planet he'd destroyed, brought tears to his eyes yet again, and made the misery of the present even worse._

_Again, the refusal. He had expected this, but he could not hold back his plea._

"_How about that? I win."_

_After a few seconds, the Master spoke his last. He asked a question about the one thing that troubled him his whole life: the drums._

"_Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming. Will it stop?"_

_The Master's eyes fluttered closed, and as he died, the Doctor held him close. _

_This time, no memories came, whether they were to comfort, anger, or sadden him. Maybe no thoughts could get through the mournful wall in his mind. _

_He just sat there, rocking on his heels, and holding his friend's dead body to his own live one. He knew the others were looking at him, but he simply didn't care. He screamed in powerless rage at thin air, nothingness... _

It was late evening now. It had been an hour since Jack had come back to check on the Doctor, and he had not even moved once.

The man's arm then fell, limp, off of the bed. Because of this, the cuff of his shirt sleeve rolled up, and Jack discovered something he had not seen before.

There were many small scratches, all the way from his wrist up to his inner elbow. Jack thought, ''Why would he do this to himself? Does he want to die? The aspirin, now this? Why did he do this?''

Just then, snapping him out of his worries, Ianto came in.

''Jack? You need anything? Would you like a break? Go to the shops, have a good time! You sure do need it. I'll stay here for a while, if you do.''

Jack was surprised by Ianto's question. After all, earlier this afternoon, it hadn't seemed like Ianto had been very warm to the alien man. Ianto understood that. He understood why it took so long until Jack said, "You sure, Ianto?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure."

Jack thought for a moment, then half-reluctantly disentangled his fingers from the

Doctor's and stood up. He said, ''Okay, Ianto. No aspirin, though,'' and left the room.

While Jack was away, Ianto mulled over the man before him.

Ianto hadn't exactly had the best feelings about the Doctor since he'd gotten there, so it was a surprise to everyone.

True, he was jealous of the alien at first, and he still was unsure that this 'Doctor' was no threat to the growing relationship between himself and Jack.

His boss had said that the Doctor was not a man's man, but Ianto could never be sure. Jack had a tendency to flirt with everyone he met, wherever he met them.

Ianto sat in the chair beside the bed, and looked at the alien before him. ''Who is he?'' he

thought. ''Why is everyone else so friendly towards him? He's an alien, and Torchwood Three has not exactly had the best experience with aliens. We're here to fight aliens, not befriend and take care of them! Is everyone just forgetting that?''

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a moan, and, eventually, his heart melted for the

man before him, just as everyone else's had already.

Just then, Ianto spotted something curious on the man's lower arm. He gently lifted the

man's arm back up onto the bed, and examined it. There were many small scratches, as Jack had seen before, but that wasn't what caught Ianto's attention.

He saw a purplish-black welt on the man's arm. It looked almost like... no... it couldn't be.. was that a brand? It looked like it. It looked almost like a Soviet brand from the second World War, but not exactly.

A Soviet brand was the closest thing Ianto knew to compare it to, but as he studied it further, he noticed the words were in some weird, indecipherable foreign language, comparable to nothing Ianto had ever seen. The depiction on the brand, as well was strange. It wasn't etched very clearly, but it was obviously not human.

Ianto's curiosity for the man increased, while decreasing his suspicion.

Like everyone else, he wondered, ''Who is this man?''

Ianto debated whether to tell Jack about the brand, then finally decided not to. It was better if he found out for himself.

Ianto heard the Doctor mutter in his sleep, ''Rose... Bad Wolf...'' He filed the words

away in his mind to ask Jack later, he might know what they meant.

When Jack had gone to make his lunch, he noticed that some normal foodstuffs were missing from the Torchwood pantry. He decided to grab those while he was out. After all, what was the use of making an extra trip?

As he was walking to the store, he considered what he had experienced the past few hours. He had just seen things he had never even thought possible. His friend, who had saved the universe, no, **universes**, countless times, lying broken, alive by a thread, in Torchwood's medical bay.

He had no idea what had happened to reduce this man, the hero of planets, the Oncoming Storm, to this condition, but whatever it was, Torchwood should be concerned. If it could do this to the Doctor, what could it do to innumerable innocent humans?

He remembered what Davros had said to the Doctor in their memorable encounter about a year ago...

"The man who abhors violence. Never carrying a gun. But this is the truth, Doctor. You take ordinary people and you fashion THEM into weapons… Already, I have seen them sacrifice today, for their beloved Doctor. The Earth woman, who fell opening the Subwave Network… How many more? Just think! How many have died in your name?… The Doctor. The man who keeps running, never looking back. Because he dare not, out of shame. This is my final victory, Doctor. I have shown you... yourself."

_We die for him because he's our friend,_ Jack thought. _Not because we are his weapons. He knows that, doesn't he?_

Jack walked the rest of the way to the cornerstore in silence, but for the noise of the busy Cardiff road. He was still thinking about what he had seen today, and more so, why he saw it? What had brought his friend to this?

Jack walked into the store and walked through the aisles to find what he needed. _Bread, fruit, coffee… _he ticked off each item on his fingers when he got it. He did this without really thinking, however. He still had his mind on the events of the day.

As he paid and walked out of the store, he wondered. _What if the Doctor really believes that? About us being his weapons. Could that have led him to this? It's a big possibility. With all he's seen, with all the deaths he's witnessed…_ _it could have led him down into an extreme depression. Possibly…_

He started walking back to Torchwood, down the cobbled Cardiff sidewalks, to relieve Ianto of his watch.


End file.
